Board of Directors

Board of Directors

The DLCC is governed by a Board of 22 Democratic state legislative leaders who represent the interests of Democratic state legislative candidates nationally. Oregon Speaker of the House Tina Kotek is the Chair of the Board. The Chair works with the Board to advocate the interests of Democratic state legislators to other national organizations and ensure that state legislative leaders are engaged with DLCC’s work in chambers across the country.

Executive Board

DLCC Chair

Beginning with her work to win domestic partnership benefits for faculty and students at the University of Washington in the mid-1990s, Tina Kotek has worked hard to change the world and to empower people to be part of that change.

Tina began her public service career as a policy advocate for the Oregon Food Bank, working to eliminate hunger for every Oregonian. She went on to serve as the policy director for Children First for Oregon before being elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2006.

In her first term in the House, Tina championed a redesign of the state's welfare program, led the fight to establish statewide nutrition standards for food sold in schools, and helped pass landmark legislation that ended discrimination based on sexual orientation and created domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.

In 2013, Tina became the first openly lesbian Speaker of any state House in the nation. As Speaker, Tina has led the charge for positive change in Oregon.

In the 2015 legislative session, Tina was a leader in the movement to give everyone a fair shot at success by championing the successful efforts to expand earned sick leave, strengthen retirement security and ban racial profiling. She worked to strengthen and expand child care options for working parents and fought to implement Oregon's Clean Fuels Program. The 2016 session built upon those wins for working families, including the passage of trailblazing legislation to raise Oregon's minimum wage.

DLCC Vice Chair

Valerie J. Longhurst was first elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in November 2004 to represent the 15th District. In 2008, she was elected as the House Majority Whip and served for four years. After the 2012 election, her caucus elected her House Majority Leader. Representative Longhurst is currently chair of the House Administration, Ethics and Rules committees. She is also the former chair of the Manufactured Housing Committee.

Rep. Longhurst has pushed for common sense gun safety measures in Delaware. First by sponsoring legislation adding Delaware to the National Instant Background Check System, then by fighting to expand background check requirements for gun purchases to include straw purchases and gun shows and finally by closing the ‘Charleston Loophole” and supporting protections for victims of domestic and intimate partner violence. In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, Delaware was the only state aside from Connecticut to pass additional gun safety measures in their state legislature.

Rep. Longhurst has been a dedicated champion of legislation to promote women’s equality in the workplace, justice system and healthcare system. During the 148th General Assembly, she spearheaded a package of 14 bills to address real issues impacting women. Equal pay activist and icon Lilly Ledbetter attended the signing ceremony for these bills and praised this work which included protections for victims of sexual assault, banning wage secrecy and discrimination against women for reproductive health decisions.

In addition to her responsibilities in the House Majority Caucus, she plays an important role in many local and national organizations and initiatives, including:

DLCC Treasurer

Senate President Ron Kouchi first joined the Hawaii state Senate in 2010. He was elected President of the Hawaii State Senate in May 2015, after serving as Vice President of the Senate from 2013-2015 and as Majority Caucus Leader from 2011-2013. Prior to joining the Senate, Kouchi served for 11 terms on the Kaua’i County Council.

Dedicated to growing Hawaii’s economy while protecting the environment, Kouchi has served as Vice Chair for the committee on Tourism, and Vice Chair for the committee on Ways and Means. He had also served as a member on the committees on Agriculture, Education, Transportation, and International Affairs. He is involved in several community organizations, and serves on the boards of the Kaua’i Veterans Memorial Hospital and the YMCA.

Senate President Ron Kouchi has served on the DLCC Board as an At-Large member since December 2016 and was chosen by his colleagues to serve as DLCC Board Treasurer in December 2017.

DLCC Secretary

Representative Lang, who currently serves as a Deputy Majority Leader in the House, has fought for economic development, working families, civil rights, and health care and Medicaid reform throughout his time in the legislature. In 2009, Lang sponsored a six-year, $32 billion construction program to fix roads, bridges, and schools across Illinois.

Over the years, Representative Lang has received numerous awards and recognition for his work. He was named "Legislator of the Year" by the Illinois Hospital Association, the Illinois Council on Senior Citizens, the Service Employees Union and the Illinois Public Action Council.

DLCC Finance Chair

Thomas M. Bakk (born June 1954) represents SD 3, which includes portions of Cook, Koochiching, Lake and portions of St. Louis counties in the northeastern part of the state. He is the current Senate Minority Leader.

Bakk was first elected to the Senate in 2002, and was reelected in 2006 and 2010. Before that, Bakk represented District 6A in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.

Bakk attended Cook High School and attended Mesabi Community College. He earned a B.A. from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He and his wife Laura, have four children.

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